Archlute

The archlute was developed soon after 1600 as a compromise between the very large theorbo, the size and re-entrant tuning of which made for difficuties in the performance of solo music, and the Renaissance tenor lute, which lacked the double bass notes of the theorbo. Essentially a tenor lute with the theorbo's neck extension appended, the archlute lacked the power in the tenor and the bass that the theorbo's large body and string length provided. The archlute then, was used as a solo instrument for the first three-quarters of the 17th century, but is rarely mentioned as a continuo instrument in this period, the theorbo being the lute class instrument with this role.

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As continuo bass lines were composed both faster in motion and higher in tessitura towards the end of the 17th century the archlute began to eclipse the theorbo as the main plucked string continuo instrument. The theorbo lacked the higher notes of the bass lines and the increasing practise of doubling the continuo part with a bowed bass (cello or viol) made the archlute's lack of power in the tenor and bass a less important shortcoming.

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The theorbo had been commonly used as the melodic bass instrument in trio sonatas from the beginning of the Baroque and the archlute took over that function too. The most famous example being Corelli's Opus 1 and 3 trio sonatas which have partbooks for 1st and 2nd violin, 'violone o arciliuto' and a continuo part for organ, a simplified version of the 'violone o arciliuto' book. The violone o arciliuto book has just as many figures to tell the player what chords to play as the organ partbook, which suggests the archlute player would be adding chords above the bass where possible.

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The archlute was used in Handel's operas and like repertoire; Giulio Cesare (1724) has continuo parts labelled both arciliuto and tiorba. Perhaps one player would play both instruments.

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Any late Italian Baroque music with a part labelled 'liuto' will mean 'arciliuto', the classic Renaissance lute being in disuse by this time.

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See also: Lute

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Lute: The lute is a plucked string instrument with a fretted neck and a deep round back. It evolved from an instrument originally developed in the Middle East, which was also the ancestor of the superficially similar oud. The words 'lute' and 'oud' are both derived from Arabic al‘ud, "the wood". The...